Different types of networks use dissimilar communication protocols. For example, communication over the Internet, a type of packet-switched network, is in accordance with a set of protocols that includes the Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). In contrast, an Ethernet network is a local area network (LAN) in which all computers are connected in a bus or star topology and a collision detection scheme is used to prevent the collision of data between two computing devices that want to send messages at the same time. A cellular communications network uses yet a different type of network schema. Network protocols sometimes prescribe how data is to be communicated over its respective network. For instance, some protocols specify how data should be formatted, addressed, transmitted, routed, and received at the intended destination. Moreover, different types of network-based applications may conform to different protocols. Communications from an email server, for example, may comply with a different protocol than communications transmitted from a web server.